Two questions decide how serious a North Carolina possession charge is: what the substance is, and how much of it there was. Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-95(a)(3), simple possession runs from a low-level misdemeanor to a felony depending on the drug’s schedule — Schedule I substances (heroin, MDMA, and others) are a felony to possess at all; Schedule II–IV substances (cocaine is the notable exception charged as a felony; most pills are misdemeanors at small quantities) escalate with amount; marijuana has its own rules.
The most important statute most defendants have never heard of
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-96 — the conditional discharge — is the first offender’s escape hatch, and it is written in mandatory language: for a qualifying first offense of simple possession or paraphernalia, the court shall, with the defendant’s consent, defer proceedings without entering a judgment of guilt. Complete the conditions — typically probation, a drug education program, staying clean — and the charge is dismissed. No conviction. And a dismissal under 90-96 can later be expunged, which means a young person’s worst night can genuinely disappear from the record.
The catch: you generally get one. Using it wisely — and knowing when the better play is fighting the charge instead of consuming the discharge — is exactly the judgment call to make with a lawyer, not alone at a plea date.
Where these cases are actually fought
Possession cases are search cases. The traffic stop on Highway 70, the “do you mind if I look in the car,” the search incident to arrest, the roommate’s stash in a shared apartment — whether the State can use what it found depends on how it was found, and constructive-possession cases (drugs near you, not on you) have real trial defenses. Before anyone talks about pleas, the stop and the search get examined. That has been our practice in the Beaufort courthouse for more than seventeen years.
Charged with possession? Don’t plead before you understand your options — some of them disappear the moment you do. Call 252-728-1373 or tell us what happened. Flat fee quoted up front.